Sermon Tone Analysis

First Peter, a study in holiness

Author

Peter identifies himself in the opening words of the letter: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.”

The book clearly claims to have been written by the well-known apostle, a leading figure in the Gospels and in the first half of the book of Acts.

This claim is well supported by second century evidence.

Some even argue that 1 Clement, written near the end of the first century, reflects use of 1 Peter.

It is certainly true that Polycarp of Smyrna knew and used 1 Peter.

This is repeatedly reflected in his letter to the Philippians, written in the first half of the second century.5

It is all the more significant since Smyrna was in one of the regions Peter addressed.

This is also true of Hierapolis, the home of Papias, who also wrote in the first half of the second century.

According to Eusebius, Papias used quotations from the first epistle of Peter.

In the latter part of the second century Irenaeus cited 1 Peter and explicitly mentioned Peter as the author.

All subsequent ancient Christian authors agree.8

The only evidence that some believe might indicate another opinion is that the Muratorian Canon (late second century) does not list 1 Peter.

Others believe that 1 Peter was originally listed and is omitted because of the corrupt state of our copy of this list.

In any case it would be a questionable argument from silence to use the omission as evidence that the author of the Canon knew 1 Peter and considered it to be falsely ascribed.

He was quite capable of identifying works which he considered to be falsely ascribed.10

Until modern times Peter’s authorship of 1 Peter was universally accepted among Christians.

However, many modern scholars, including Goppelt and Achtemeier, consider the book pseudepigraphical.

Their arguments are not compelling.

One argument against Petrine authorship is the good quality of the Greek in 1 Peter.

However, in recent decades there has been a growing awareness that Greek was widely used as a second language in Palestine.

It is not improbable that, even without a special gift from the Spirit, Peter would have known Greek.

Furthermore, 1 Peter 5:12 may indicate that Silvanus assisted Peter as his secretary.

This is a debated point which is discussed in the comments on that verse.

But if Silvanus did secretarial work for Peter, then he may have influenced the Greek style.

A second argument used against Peter having written 1 Peter is the similarity of the content of parts of 1 Peter to the letters of Paul.

However, such similarities are not surprising.

The incident Paul recounts in Galatians 2 does not indicate that he and Peter remained at odds with each other or that they did not share many common emphases.

A third argument is that the references to persecution indicate a late date, perhaps during the reign of Domitian (A.D. 81–96) or Trajan (A.D. 98–117)—after the death of Peter during the reign of Nero (A.D. 54–68).

However, there are no clear indications of state-ordered persecution in 1 Peter.

Fortunately, this argument has lost much of its force because most contemporary scholars agree that the persecution reflected in 1 Peter does not presuppose a government-sponsored persecution.

In the light of the weakness of arguments to the contrary and the strength of the second century support for Peter as the author, the claim made in 1 Peter 1:1 should be accepted.

The author is Peter the apostle.

Place of Composition

First Peter 5:13 says “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.”

Peter was in “Babylon.”

There are three possible referents: Mesopotamian Babylon, a Roman military settlement named Babylon (located near modern Cairo, Egypt), and the city of Rome.

The most likely choice is Rome.

Rome is symbolically designated “Babylon” in the book of Revelation and several Jewish works (including 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch).

One weakness of this approach is that 1 Peter appears to be the earliest such reference.

But there is reasonably good evidence that Peter went to Rome.

Clement of Rome, writing in the mid-90s, implies that Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome during the Neronian persecution brought on by the fire in Rome in July of A.D. 64.

In the early second century Ignatius’s letter to the Romans seems to assume that Peter had been in Rome.

Beginning in the second half of the second century there is a steady stream of references to Peter in Rome (although many of them are mixed in with dubious assertions about Peter founding the Roman church).

In addition to Peter, 1 Peter 5:13 places Mark in “Babylon” as well.

If Colossians and Philemon were written from Rome, they place Mark there with Paul (Col 4:10; Phlm 24).

Date

The previous paragraph points out that 1 Clement 5–6 suggests that Peter died in the Neronian persecution.

As in the case of Peter’s presence in Rome, sources from the late second century and beyond provide a steady stream of references to Peter’s martyrdom under Nero (mixed with various dubious claims).

The vast majority of scholars accept the idea that Peter was martyred by order of Nero between A.D. 64 and 68.

Since Peter is the author, 1 Peter must have been written no later than A.D. 68.

Few, if any, would suggest a date earlier than the 60s.

Earlier dates might not allow adequate time for Peter to come to Rome or for Christianity to spread through most of Asia Minor.

Recipients

Concerning the five provinces listed in 1 Peter 1:1 see the commentary for details.

They encompass most of Asia Minor (modern Turkey).

Peter addressed Christians who were scattered throughout these areas.

The fact that Peter addressed his readers with the term “Diaspora” or “Dispersion” (1:1) misled many in the past to maintain that his readers were primarily Jewish Christians.

The term “Diaspora,” meaning “scattered,” was used frequently by the Jews to refer to those who had been scattered throughout the world, away from their Palestinian homeland.

However, there is a consensus among modern interpreters that Peter used it metaphorically to include Gentile Christians.

All Christians live away from their homeland with God.

Besides the likelihood that many Gentiles had become Christians in these predominantly Gentile regions, several verses in 1 Peter indicate that many of the readers came out of a pagan past.

See, for example, 1:14, “do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance”; 1:18, “you were redeemed from the evil way of life handed down to you from your forefathers”; and 4:3, “you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do.”

1, 2 Peter (Encouraging the Persecuted)

First Peter 5:12 sums up Peter’s purpose: “I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.

Stand fast in it.”

Peter’s letter was a word of encouragement to Christians who were facing persecution and needed encouragement to stand firm in their faith.Earlier interpreters often thought of these persecutions as state-sponsored persecutions leading to imprisonment and death.

More recent interpreters have noticed that the nature and extent of the persecutions is not very specific.

The only specific reference to physical persecution is the reference in 2:20 to Christian slaves being beaten.

There is no reference to state-sponsored persecution.But that the persecutions were severe is clear from such references as 1:6, “You may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” and 4:12, “do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering.”We

are familiar with the antagonistic environment the early Christians lived in from reading Acts and Paul’s letters.

In the early second century several pagan writers provide further evidence of how Christians were perceived by others.

In writing about Nero’s persecution of Christians Tacitus describes them as “a class hated for their abominations” and calls Christianity “a deadly superstition … hideous and shameful.”

In describing the same event Suetonius describes Christians as “a class of men given to a new and wicked superstition.”

During roughly the same period of time Pliny, the Roman governor of Bithynia (one of the five regions Peter addressed), wrote to the emperor Trajan and described Christianity as “a perverse and extravagant superstition.”

These are the kinds of criticisms Peter presumably had in mind when he made comments like “they accuse you of doing wrong” (2:12) and they “speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ” (3:16).Peter wrote to remind these readers of what God had done for them in Christ (e.g., 1:1–12; 2:4–10) and to encourage them to stand firm (e.g., 1:13–25; 2:11–25).

We can benefit from overhearing what he said.

I. Live in Hope:

A. Jesus followers have a reservation in glory.

B. Jesus followers are being crafted for glory.

C. Jesus followers know that glory now - Jesus:

1. Love Jesus (v.

8).

2. Trust Jesus (v.

8).

3. Rejoice in Jesus (v.

8).

4. Receive from Jesus (v.9).

D. Jesus is the hope of the sages through the ages.

II.

Therefore, Live in Holiness:

If you want to act holy, you have to learn to think holy.

Transformation—the process of becoming holy—begins in your mind.

Jesus, our holiness